Organizers pull plug on disappointing Mosaïvernales

Rain and warmer temperatures have put an early end to Mosaïvernales, the outdoor winter sculpture festival in Gatineau, and organizers confirmed Tuesday they won't come close to the number of visitors they were hoping for.

The Mosaïvernales snow sculpture exhibit was supposed to run in Gatineau's Jacques-Cartier Park until March 4, but organizers have decided to pull the plug after warm weather and poor attendance marred the event. (NCC/Twitter )

Rain and warmer temperatures have put an early end to Mosaïvernales, the outdoor winter sculpture festival in Gatineau, and organizers confirmed Tuesday they won't come close to the number of visitors they were hoping for.

Organizers had hoped 200,000 people would pay to visit the frozen display in Jacques-Cartier Park by the original closing date of March 4, but only about 20,000 visitors stopped by.

The festival was a winter version of the much more successful MosaïCanada horticultural exhibition held at the same location from June to October 2017. That event attracted more than 1.3 million visitors, but unlike Mosaïvernales, which charged $10 for admission, MosaïCanada was free.

A warm spell in late January didn't help things, forcing the festival to temporarily close as workers patched up the melting sculptures.

Mosaivernalles, the snow sculpture festival in Gatineau, has closed due to mild weather. 0:24